Motorcyclist dies following crash at Lower Apperley near Gloucester

A MOTORCYCLIST became the fifth biker to die on Gloucestershire roads in three weeks after colliding with a hedge near Lower Apperley today.

The male biker was pronounced dead at 2.33pm at the scene following the crash outside the Farmers Arms in the village.

Two air ambulances were called and the road outside the pub closed in both directions while investigations took place.

It was the fifth death involving a motorcyclist in the county in three weeks and the second within 24 hours after a 57-year-old-man from West Yorkshire was killed following a collision between junctions 10 and 11 of the M5 southbound around 6.50pm on Sunday.

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An inquest was opened yesterday in to the death of motorcyclist James Graham Philp, from Leicester, after he was involved in a collision near the Beckford Inn, Tewkesbury on May 22.

Just the day before, a 22-year-old man from Scotland died on the A40 Cheltenham-bound in the Cotswolds between when his bronze Suzuki motorcycle was in a crash with a white LDV dropside lorry and silver Audi A6 Estate

While on May 12, Stroud rider Paul Martin, 37, died of multiple injuries after a collision with a train at an unmanned level crossing at Frampton Mansell, near Stroud.

Apperley and Deerhurst Parish Council has been campaigning to reduce the speed limit from 50mph to 40mph in the area where the collision occurred. District councillor for the area, Phil Awford, said: “Every one death is one death too many.

“That stretch of road is very bendy and we have had a few problems with motorcyclists in the past. They have been campaigning for years to have the speed limit reduced there, which is something I support. All our thoughts should be with the family and friends of the person who died.”

Figures from Gloucestershire County Council show there were five motorcycle casualties in 2012, and four in 2013. There were 47 serious crashes in 2012, dropping to 36 in 2013.

And 82 bikers suffered slight injuries in 2012, with that number dropping to 53 in 2013.

Martin Surl, Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, made improved road safety one of the priorities in his term in office.

“It is such a needless loss of life and in so short a period of time after a year in which the number of collisions and casualties on our roads fell to the lowest in the county’s history,” he said.

Andre Bovington, Skills for Life manager at Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership, said: “Any death on our roads is a tragedy. This is why we frequently educate all road users of their joint responsibilities to look out for each other.”

The news came as it was confirmed Bob Price, 65, from Stroud, died yesterday while taking part in the TT Races on the Isles of Man.

3 comments

Getting the facts wrong is an insult to the families & friends who have lost a loved one.
3 riders have lost their lives on the county's roads another rider lost his life on the county's rail network.
There is no number 5 thankfuly and i hope there never is.
My thoughts are with those left behind.